On Being Busy and Bored

I had lunch with some friends today and, after some car-bound pondering while driving the interstate on my way home, I got to thinking. I find it interesting how I “complained” about being both bored and busy – simultaneously, no less.

This started me wondering: Am I really that bored? Am I really that busy? Or am I simply labeling something else in these familiar terms? As a writer, I know that we often limit ourselves with familiar language.

I have to ask myself, what is really going on? Despite this extended stint of unemployment, I’ve kept myself involved in all my usual projects. I’m still contributing to a variety of publications. I continue to support a number of organizations through volunteering. I am increasing the number of events I coordinate. Some of these things are paid; others are free – but life is like that.

Before I was unemployed, however, I did all of these things AND worked a 40-hour office job.

Right now, though, life feels a bit like it is in limbo. I’ve taken a temporary part-time position filling in for a friend on maternity leave, but there are a few things to work through before I can start. I recently finished volunteering as an organizer for a huge event. The details for my next event are still changing, so I’m waiting to kick off that project. And I’ve submitted tons of resumes and hope to hear something on the job front soon.

Not having a full-time job is nerve-wracking, of course. A job also takes up a considerable amount of time. I can see how we are wired to consider ourselves to be bored when we are not dedicating some 2,000 hours per year to a specific thing.

While I’m still writing, I’ve been doing that at home to save money on gas and coffee (often sitting on the couch/lazy-boy). A lot of this sitting, albeit productive work, can be a bit of a mind trick as well.  Yes, I am planning, researching, writing, reading, etc., but staying in one place with few changes in scenery can be boring. Our unseasonably cold winter in the South hasn’t helped, either.

So, yes, I suppose I am simultaneously busy and bored. It’s a strange feeling, and sounds a little unreal when you say it out loud. As “they” say, truth can be stranger than fiction.

Until that change in scenery comes along, looks like I’ll do my best to stay busy while trying not to get too bored…. or should I say stay active while trying not to get too uninterested… or what about stay engaged while trying not to get too jaded… better yet, maybe just stay with the simple, familiar language.